The emergence of post-truth as a central ideological current where emotion and belief often override evidence and rational argument has sparked global debates about truth, authority, and the nature of knowledge itself. For African knowledge systems, long subjected to the distortions of colonialism and epistemic marginalisation, this shift raises urgent questions. This study investigated how the ideological framework of posttruth criss-crosses with Africa’s ongoing struggle for epistemic selfdetermination and the recognition of indigenous knowledge forms. It interrogated the extent to which post-truth culture further complicates or perhaps reopens the space for reasserting local epistemologies that have historically been discredited or silenced. Employing a literature-based methodology and grounded in decolonial thought and critical epistemology frameworks, the study draws from diverse scholarly works across philosophy, political discourse, media studies, and African intellectual traditions. The study acknowledged that while post-truth culture may challenge dominant Western epistemologies by destabilising rigid orders of knowledge, it simultaneously introduces risks such as the blurring of fact and fiction, the co-option of indigenous narratives into misinformation, and the vulnerability of traditional knowledge systems within algorithmic and digital environments. Findings suggest that the African knowledge dilemma in the post-truth age is not merely one of recognition but of survival within an environment of epistemic legitimacy. The study concluded with a call for epistemic vigilance in culturally grounded criteria for knowledge validation, stronger policies on digital literacy, and a reinvigorated commitment to reinventing education systems that centres on African thought.
Keywords: Post-truth, African epistemology, decolonial knowledge, digital culture, epistemic justice, indigenous thought.
Written By:
Abraham Apereseimokomo Alfred, Ph.D
Niger Delta University, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State
Department of Philosophy
Phone Number: 08037115473
Email: triplea973@yahoo.com
ORCID ID: 0009-0002-2165-6861